Tag Archive for: P6

Maple City Feis 2015 Review

maplecityThe Inaugural Maple City Feis was held on February 21st, 2015 at the John D. Bradley Convention Center in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and was hosted by the Cornell School.

Any feis can have its positives and negatives, and this feis is no different. Not going to pull any punches on the lows, considering this was the first one, or restrain myself on the highs. I mean if I can ding the feis that I was part of, why would I be any different for anyone else 😉

I do think the hand made chocolates in the shape of a maple leaf given to each dancer was a nice touch, especially if the dancer has nut allergies and does not eat anything where we can’t read the label, do she gave it to her Dad. It was delish by the way 😉

Venue

Our initial reaction to this ‘convention center’ was “wow, that’s small.” Might be the fact we are used to places like the IX Center at North Coast, but considering our initial thoughts, I thought this was a pretty good venue. In general, it was of adequate size for the number of competitors that attended, but I thought they could have used the space a little better.

As soon as you walked in, to the right were a number of long tables down one wall, adequate for eating, but really not much else. These took up a great deal of space, were not necessarily located close enough to any stage to see, and ended up being camping so when it was time to eat, seating for eating was hard to come by.

Temperature wise, I thought it was comfortable considering the meh weather outside. There only seemed to be one restroom per gender, but that did not seem to be an issue considering the attendance, and the venue was small enough where they were fairly convenient.

There were two larger rooms off one end of the venue. One served as the Open Champs stage area, and the other held the Champs award area with a podium, the grades awards table, and a section set aside for used dress sales.

The Awards/Dress room was fine, the Open Champ room was a claustrophobes nightmare. The stage was huge and marley covered, raised well above the spectators, then came the judge area, a bit lower but still raised, and then the spectator seating. As always, it seemed that people took as many chairs as their luggage needed, leaving lots of people standing, blocking walkways, etc… At one point, they were three deep at the entrance to the room, making entry and exit nearly impossible. IMHO, they could have taken out a third of the chairs, which, if nothing else, would have made more standing and travel room.

Stages and Seating

There were six stages in all. Stage 6, the Open Champ stage, as mentioned above, was huge, with too much seating, which was a stark contrast to the remaining stages which were, considering the size of the venue, to small, and there was NO SEATING SET UP FOR SPECTATORS!

Stages 1 & 2, and 3 & 4 were combined, with a single musician each (at least the stage I saw, but it only makes sense considering the way they were set up that the other was the same). These stages were set so they were back-to-back, and the best I can tell they were individually about 20ish x 16ish feet each. Thing is, if you line a big comp of dancers up on each one, who, because they are back-to-back, are standing on the stage, and dance two or three dancers at a time, things start getting tight really quickly.

Stage 1 & 2 was covered with what looked like gray (or grey depending on your country) marley, and was used later as a single stage for PC set dances, which was an adequate size for that purpose. Stages 3 & 4 were just plywood, and still to small, but I digress.

Stage 5 was the PC stage, was marley covered, and appeared to be about 24 x 32. Good size.

The feis volunteers seemed to be on top of stage maintenance, and I did not see any slips or falls during the day.

Recommendation: I think there was enough room in the venue to separate the stages so none were joined, which would have reduced stage congestion since dancers would be able to line up behind, instead of on, the stage.

Recommendation: Chairs, get chairs, and put them out for the spectators, not just around the tables and in the OC room.

Oh, and did I mention chairs would be a nice addition?

Camping

Camping was probably adequate, but an area was not marked off, so it tended to spread out and spill over into the ‘walkways.’ Combine that with people standing to view the dancing, and the people who set up their camp chairs closer to the stages, it made it difficult to get around.

Judges

I cannot speak to the grades level judging, other than the fact there was one on each stage. How often or if they rotated I do not know, but I did hear one comment that one dancer had danced for the same judge for all her dances.

There were three judges on each the PC and OC stages, whom seemed attentive.

Musicians

As mentioned, the ‘combined’ stages shared a musician, and the champ stages (5 and 6) each had their own musician. If you were standing near the center of the venue, there was a lot of musical confusion, but it decreased nearer the stages.

I did hear one musical negative, and that was regarding the keyboard player. He seemed to start each of the pieces in a less traditional way. One sounded to me like the start of a 50’s rock and roll song, and I heard a similar comment from another spectator. I really didn’t put to much thought into that until I heard dancers saying that it was hard to get a good count with the way he started the songs.

Food

Convention center food, pizza, wraps, salads, fried stuffs, drinks etc… which was not super expensive. I shared a wrap with TGC that was pretty good. The pizza looked good and the slices were large, so no complaints. There were two concession stands set up and there really never seemed to be an obnoxious line.

Well, there was one complaint, I did not find out till late in the day I missed an opportunity to have poutine. THAT won’t happen again.

Vendors

Only a few, and not all dance related. You could probably get any necessities for dance, but compared to other feiseanna I attend, the vendor pickings were a bit sparse.

SIDE NOTE: They did have Cadbury, but no Smarties 🙁

Feis Flow

I am torn here…. lunch break was set to end at 12:30, and close to 1:00 our stage had not resumed while others already had. When you have been STANDING AROUND (yes, that is a no chairs remark) for hours, it starts to wear on both the dancers and the spectators.

That being said however, when they got started, they were through the hard and soft shoe rounds, and the set for a ‘larger’ comp in just about an hour. Makes you wonder where the disconnect on getting lunch done on time if the morning had run the same way.

Awards and Results

Results

Results for grades were posted along one wall near all the tables. I liked the fact that they posted just competitor numbers and no names, but the size of the font was a bit hard to read and could have been much larger considering the limited info on each results sheet.

For champ results, I am used to waiting at least 60 minutes, and most often about 90 to get results, so I was VERY IMPRESSED that results were ready in about 30 minutes for TGCs comp.

maplecitymedalAwards

There were medals in the shape of the feis logo which I thought was cool.

Each of the ‘placers’ got a small momentum that looked like a nice glass statue, but on further  investigation, were just plastic and felt a little cheap.

Champs had sashes for top 3, and some other chotchkies. Didn’t get a close enough look at them. The 1st place dancer recieved a bottle of maple syrup in a maple leaf shaped bottle. Very cool touch.

Misc/Social Media

No real social media effort that I saw, but ONE OF THE BEST FEIS WEBSITES I HAVE SEEN. Parallax scrolling, very geeky and appreciated by those of us who notice stuff like that 😉

Maple City Feis Overall Score – 6.75

I really think this feis has potential. A number of the ‘cons’ I think could be easily corrected. I know it was the first one, so I am interested to see where it goes in the future.

What Did You Think?

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Queen City Feis PC/OC Levels Review 2014

queencityAs I think about the Queen City Feis, I realize that it was the first feis we attended, ever, back in 2008. TGC walked away with 2 third place medals that day. I actually wrote a mini-feis review on my personal blog. Who knew what we were getting ourselves into… so without further ado.

The Queen City Feis was held at the Duke Energy Convention Center on Saturday, May 10th, 2014. This was our 6th trip to this feis (missing a year for a school change), and the first year we got to be on the other side of the wall (the champ side). You can see my previous reviews here.

This review focuses on the PC/OC levels but has some additional info that crosses the levels. Not to worry, one of our newest contributors, Mellie Wilkes, wrote a grades level review for your reading pleasure.

Venue

We have been to this venue a number of times and I like it a little more each time. This year was no exception.

Stages & Seating

There were 7 stages in the venue with 1 – 5 being grades level, 6 for PC and OC, and 7 for OC. The grades level stages were 20 x 24 and plywood, and the champ stages were closer to 32 x 32 and covered in a light gray coating (not sure what it was). There was good separation between the stages and lots of chairs at each one. I did not see any stage maintenance during the day in the way of sweeping and mopping, but stage crew seemed to be on the ball for any FO (foreign objects) and removed them promptly. It seemed there were less opportunities for ‘feis shaming‘ since there were plenty of chairs at each stage, and it was the most respectful crowd I have seen at the champ stages in this regard in quite awhile. I did hear some grumblings from the grades level side that people were less courteous.

Camping & Access

Camping areas were plentiful and well marked, and the feis team set up a 6 – 8 foot wide walkway throughout the stage areas. This was occasionally more constricted due to camping overflow and loiterers, but generally you could get through pretty easily.

Awards & Results Areas

Grade level awards were posted at one end of the venue on a large wall. No matter where you are though, grades level results are hard to get too with the number of people trying to see them. The awards table was right next to where the results were posted.

Champ level dancers had a section off in a secluded area featuring the standard 3 tier podium and lots of chairs for viewers. ‘A’ chair for a viewer is out of the ordinary, so ‘lots for viewers’ was a bonus. This area was far enough away from stages so the announcements did not compete with music from any of the stages.

Parking

Parking was plentiful with various lots costing from $10 – $15 dollars within a block of the building.

Venue Score: 9.5

Judges

The stage we were on actually had 4 judges, 1 in training as I understand. The judges were attentive to both dancers on stage each time, and the scores seemed more consistent than they have at other feiseanna. Not sure if this speaks to the opinions of the judges, or a consistency in TGCs skills. Either way, I liked the judging.

Judge Score: 9.5

Music

Having commented on musical confusion in other posts, I can say when you are in front of the stage or in the middle of the venue, this feis was no different. Lots of overlap from the various stages. I did make a point to walk the venue and try to hear the music from a dancer perspective (without actually getting on the stage) and realize that if you are ‘in front’ of the musician, it is a lot easier to hear.

Each stage had their own musicians and I heard no complaints.

Musician Score: 9.5

Food

This venue had ‘upscale’ convention center food like Cuban sandwiches, Metts, Chicken Tender sandwiches, and then your burgers, fries, pretzels, deli sandwiches, etc… The concession was pricey at $8.50 for a deli sandwich but it was good size and came with a small pasta salad and granola bar (weird combo). Drinks were also pricey.

You could also find smoothies, lemonade and sno-cones and a nice roasted nuts and chocolates table.

Food Score: 7.5

Vendors

You can see a complete list of vendors but the usual subjects were there, including George the shoe guy and Mare the ribbon lady. Otherwise, a few wig and hair things and some specialty tables, but sadly, no Irish M&Ms (Smarties).  🙁

Vendor Score: 7.5

Results

Results for champs, as mentioned above had a nice area off to one end of the venue with lots of chairs for viewers, so props for that, but it was just over an hour for results to be tabulated and announced. This was not much less than the feis last weekend that literally had twice as many dancers in the comp. Still, an hour is not terrible.

Results Score: 8.5

Feis Flow

We got to the venue early, we always do, but that is our fault. From start to finish, TGC did a special, both PC dances and got awards within 2 hours. Pretty darn good.

Feis Flow: 9

Scoring

Two part scoring with a Feis Score consisting of Judging, Music, Results and Flow, and then the overall consisting of everything.

Feis Score: 9.125 – That is VERY respectable 🙂

And the WTF Rating is 8.71… Nice Job Queen City!

What Say You?

Well, not sure what is going on, but our polling software has decided to spazz out on us. Would love to hear what you thought, so can you do it in the comments below? It can be anonymous  🙂  Thanks!

West Virginia Feis PC/OC Day 2014

The West Virginia Feis PC/OC was held on March 23rd, 2014 at Hyatt Regency Hotel at the Pittsburgh Airport in Pittsburgh, PA. Since the feis was held in PA, I have listed it under both PA and WV reviews.

NOTE: This is for the PC/OC day of the feis (Sunday). If you have comments for the Grades day of the feis, please contact me and I can share them in a separate post, thanks!

Venue – This is the third feis I have attended at the Hyatt, and though I wasn’t thrilled with the venue the first time, and even less impressed the second time, I didn’t mind it at all this time. Lots about the venue was the same, but considering it was a champ day, there were a LOT less people there and it made it a much more pleasant environment.

The syllabus listed 3 stages, but I only saw 2 (and actually didn’t realize there was a third). Stages 1 and 2 were in the large ballroom and were separated by a temporary partition. This was a much better setup than having 3 stages in the same room and allowed more chairs for viewers and better traffic flow. Combine that with less people and it was a win-win.

Stages were huge, I am guessing 30 x 30ish, or maybe bigger. It was hard to tell since they covered the normal 4 x 8 sheets of plywood (which is how I do my normal measuring) with that black material which made a much better dance platform. I did not see any falls and only one minor slip while I was watching the competitions.

Due to the level of the dancers, results were announced instead of posted. This was in the hallway on the way to the back doors and blocked the hallway completely, which was an inconvenience but only minor (depending of course on who you ask).

Camping seemed adequate and I saw no NO CAMPING signs. People did fill up viewers chairs and the tables that had been set up in one of the side rooms, but I rant about that elsewhere if you are interested. There were lots of chairs though, and we did not have any trouble finding seats.

The concessions and vendors were setup in the halls as in years past, but with less people, it wasn’t as congested.

Parking was plentiful but may have involved a bit of a walk depending on when you arrived. There was a way to pull right up to the hotel to drop off dancers and gear though. The feis did pay for parking which was cool and saved me $13.

Venue Score: 9 (so much better then the past with less people)

Judges – PC/OC  always has 3 judges monitoring the performance. You really don’t get much better than that. The judges seemed attentive on our stage and took no breaks that I saw.

Judge Score: 9.5

Music – Each stage had their own musician and there was a lot of distance between them. I could not hear the music from the other stage when I was watching dancers perform on our stage.

Musician Score: 9.5

Food – Same as for the last feis, breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, pretzels, pizza, salad, drinks and sundries… all reasonably priced, except maybe the drinks which were $2.50 for a small bottle of soda. I didn’t eat but my wife said the fries had been sitting out for a while.

Food Score: 7

Vendors – They had the airbrush artist back which I like. Otherwise the standard feis tshirt guy, shoe booth, jewelry, feis and Irish themed apparel, knit goods, the wig stuff, nic-nacs, paddywacks, etc…

Vendor Score: 8.5

Results – As the morning progressed I was more and more impressed that ‘the feis guy’ would come out and announce ‘awards for X will be in 5 minutes’ about 15 minutes after the comp finished. Based on previous PC experience, this is the best PC/OC results I have seen. TGCs comp did take longer than the others, and was between 30 and 45 minutes, but there were a lot of dancers in her comp, so I can understand the extra time. Even with that, it was handled better than I have seen at this level so far.

Results Score: 9

Feis Flow – Big KUDOS for feis flow. ‘The feis guy (aka Jim)’ I refer to above was outstanding keeping things going, and keeping people informed on what was going on.  I saw a continuous flow of dancers within and between comps, and there was very little down time.

Jim also ran the results and kept that smooth and quick. He does have a ‘not from around here’ accent and speaks quickly, and my wife had a hard time keeping up when he read results, but I had no trouble, of course my Mum has that same accent 😉 .  If there was any comment, he could slow down a little.

From my viewpoint the flow was handled exceptionally well.

Feis Flow: 10

Scoring

Two part scoring with a Feis Score consisting of Judging, Music, Results and Flow, and then the overall consisting of everything.

Feis Score: 9.5 – PC/OC is always helped by judges and music, but the Results and Flow did not disappoint either.

And the WTF Rating is 8.92… pretty good 😉  You can add in your rating in the What Say You section below.

EDITORS NOTE: During the results, Jim took an informal poll of the dancers. It has been the habit of the feis to give all dancers at this level an award considering they have worked so hard to get to this level. The poll was to see if that should continue, or if they should just award top half as it is for most other feiseanna. Seemed the majority (not all) of the dancers thought the status quo (all awarded) was the way to go.

My opinion was that I thought it was nice that they do that, but something seemed amiss. It was when my daughter and I were chatting on the way home that I figured out what that was. She said she liked the fact they gave awards to everyone, but by doing that, they were taking some recognition away from the top half placers. She suggested that maybe a different award might be appropriate, so that the dancers who placed had something signifying their placement, instead of the same award that they all got for participating. I tend to agree and hopefully that came out right 🙂

What Say You?

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